Technology Specialist, Lifecycle Business Dev

What Makes a Honda, is Who makes a Honda

Honda has a clear vision for the future, and it's a joyful one.  We are looking for individuals with the skills, courage, persistence, and dreams that will help us reach our future-focused goals. 

 At our core is innovation. Honda is constantly innovating and developing solutions to drive our business with record success.  We strive to be a company that serves as a source of power that supports people around the world who are trying to do things based on their own initiative and that helps people expand their own potential. To this end, Honda strives to realize the joy and freedom of mobility by developing new technologies and an innovative approach to achieve a zero environmental footprint.

We are looking for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, continuous improvement values, and a strong work ethic to join our team.

If your goals and values align with Honda's, we want you to join our team to Bring the Future

Job Purpose

Developing and executing product and business strategy in a world of rapid technological and social change requires a highly capable, highly knowledgeable, and highly engaged team. American Honda's Sustainability & Business Development (SBD) business unit (BU) is tasked with navigating the business and technology application path for Honda's future renewable energy, resource circulation and innovative business initiative products, services, and businesses. Our focus is to establish an ecosystem of hardware, software, and renewable energy that achieves these goals by focusing on real-world user experience. By providing solutions to users that are intuitive, generate value for users in terms of time savings, money savings, and enriching their lives we can expand and deepen our relationship with each customer. The team will focus on building and sustaining Honda's core brand values and enhancing brand image and competitiveness in the marketplace by innovating, incubating, selecting, developing, applying, and operating new businesses, features, products, and services with responsibility for their profitability, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction for Honda in North America. 

The Resource Circularity & Lifecycle Business Development team will establish a lifecycle (circular economy) business that will be the foundation of Honda's future business and will have a long lasting relationship with customers.  This team's mission is to plan and carry out the tasks of developing new business offerings comprised of new services and products that increase the value of the customer's experience during the period they own the car.  The business addresses value-added products and services throughout the vehicle's lifecycle - from the purchase of a new car to the time the car is scrapped. 

The Technology Specialist will be responsible to contribute, manage and lead business development activities on identified initiatives. As part of the team and as a subject matter expert, this role will evaluate existing technologies and capabilities of products, propose detailed solutions and path forward to advance lifecycle business offerings. The focus of this position is to propose and validate product and solution (hardware/software/digital) that will add value to existing Honda and Acura vehicles. He/She will validate business development themes or hypotheses with technology solutions focus to achieve the desired business and technical outcomes and recommend next steps to leadership and business development teams.

Key Accountabilities

Technology Specialist acts as a subject matter expert within the lifecycle business development team, focusing on understanding, evaluating and proposing technology capabilities and business solutions. Continually asks what success looks like for technology evaluations and works to gain learnings.  Employs Agile techniques to move quickly, incorporate learnings and pivot as necessary.   

Utilizing the understanding of business team needs, market environment, and Honda capabilities, coordinate with various internal and external teams to clarify and recommend detailed, technology solutions (hardware / software  / other upgrades) to address key technical and business questions. Defines resource needs and works with management to gain commitment. 

With a good understanding of Honda and Acura automobiles, regularly reports status of technology solution evaluations and advances to stakeholders including technology roadmaps, lessons learned and hypothesis updates.  Focusing on adding value to existing Honda products, analyzes trends, understands applicability and impact to Honda products, summarizes and presents key learnings, and recommends next steps.  

Maintains strong ties to Honda manufactuing, R&D, Innovation and Research teams in NA and in Japan and understands technology advances and usage across the organization..  Maintains expertise about industry trends in hardware, software, communciation and other relevent technologies that can be applied to Honda products. 

Follows project management and agile best practices and tool usage.  Proposes improvements in process to incorporate continued improvement of technogy evaluation projects and their results.  

Qualifications, Experience, and Skills

Minimum Educational Qualifications: 

• BS in engineering OR Related field

Minimum Experience: 

• 3+ years of deep understanding of customer technology and connected customer solutions
• 3+ years of experience with cross functional teams including technical and business teams
• Excellent research, technical writing, communication and presentation skills
• Strong hands-on technical expertise and track record of  successful projects
• Strong industry knowledge of hardware, software and wireless communication technologies and their practical applications.
• Ability to think big picture and out of the box
• Honda or Automotive Industry specific knowledge across all product lines (Preferred)

Other Job Specific Skills: 

• Strong proficiency with MS Office is required, especially PowerPoint and Excel.
• Strong presenter and confident interacting with all levels of management.
• Excellent teamwork skills for both NA and GO offices and associates.
• Driver's license required and ability to operate a diverse assortment of automobiles.  Proficiency with manual transmission preferred but not required.
• Function in an Agile project team as a Product Owner / LPL, Scrum Master / ALPL, or Person-In-Charge of a Functional Area for a project.

Job Dimensions

No. of Direct Reports: 0

No of Indirect Reports: 0

Financial Dimensions: (e.g. annual revenue, operating budget)

Decisions Expected

Recommendation to business teams to incorporate technology advances
Priority and resource needs for technical projects/evaluations

Working Conditions

40% desk work using laptop and phone, including conference calls, communicating, reading and responding to emails, reading contracts, etc
35% meetings
25% preparing for and reporting to management
Business travel required as assigned  - (5%)

Honda is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.